I just thought I let everyone know that 'The Engine' programmer software
is available for FREE on my web site. At the moment there is only a beta
version, but I have upgraded it quite a lot and should have this version
on line soon.

It has successfully programmed PIC's, and serial EEPROMs thus far,
mainly because that's all the time I've had to sort out the code.
However, it should be able to program 'just about' anything that is
programmable and it's a simple matter to 'roll your own'. I've looked at
the specs for AVR, Scenix, SGS etc. and I can't see why The Engine
cannot program them as well. I'm going to have a go at writing the
programming code for these soon, but time is a 'scrooge' these days.

I am going to make these programming algorithms freely available on the
web site. My hope is that if anyone else has had luck programming a new
chip, they too will make the software available as part of a routine
library on The Engines web page for all to use.

I have designed a PCB for the programmer and will post the project
details soon. If there is any interest, I will create a kit of parts for
it as well.

I've gone over the instruction set for The Engine tons of times, but I'm
sure there will be a need for enhancements, so any feedback is welcome.
It will be attended to.

The PIC source code will also be 'open' for upgrades as they appear. It
pains me to say it, but the PIC is probably not the best processor for
this application as the RAM addressing slows it's operation a bit, but
when the 18CXXX series arrives, things should improve. Also, when I get
access to a USB driver, The Engine will really get revved up.

Tony Nixon wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> I just thought I let everyone know that 'The Engine' programmer software
> is available for FREE on my web site. At the moment there is only a beta
> version, but I have upgraded it quite a lot and should have this version
> on line soon.

Well done Tony - your engine looks great! I think it is the first
time that something like this is available in the public domain.

We did the same thing about 2.5 years ago to enable us to combine
out bed-of-nails testing with any programming that need to be done
on the PBC. You might want to consider using some of the A/D's and
general I/O so one can verify high/low, as well as do general
electrical tests before it is programmed.

> Well done Tony - your engine looks great! I think it is the first
> time that something like this is available in the public domain.

Thanks for the comments.

> We did the same thing about 2.5 years ago to enable us to combine
> out bed-of-nails testing with any programming that need to be done
> on the PBC. You might want to consider using some of the A/D's and
> general I/O so one can verify high/low, as well as do general
> electrical tests before it is programmed.
>
> I think it is extremely generous of you to put it in public domain.

I've only created a basic PCB that provides two variable outputs, VPP
and VCC, which is OFF/ON controlled by the PIC. A very simple but
effective idea. Adding any other 'fancy' programming voltages also fits
in well with the general Engine concept, and that is the target board
can have anything at all on it. The Engine is there only to control it
via your own software. It gets away from a fixed set of rules, and lets
anyone create their own. There are 28 IO pins available for general
purpose use, individually accessable under program control.

As I mentioned I am making everything available, but the PCB is a bit
compact and will be hard to make at home, although, as is posted on the
web site, even this can be made simpler. I am more than happy to create
a kit of parts if there is any interest.

I made up a daughter PCB that programs most PICs, even the 14 pin ones,
and some serial and I2C EEPROMs. Total cost, about $5.

As an aside, I needed to create a circuit that could switch two
transistors on at an interval of 180mS to test some equipment. This may
have been a fiddly task, but The Engine did it, and it only took a few
minutes to get it going.

Tony Nixon wrote:
>
> Tjaart van der Walt wrote:
>
> > Well done Tony - your engine looks great! I think it is the first
> > time that something like this is available in the public domain.
>
> Thanks for the comments.

> I made up a daughter PCB that programs most PICs, even the 14 pin ones,
> and some serial and I2C EEPROMs. Total cost, about $5.
>
> As an aside, I needed to create a circuit that could switch two
> transistors on at an interval of 180mS to test some equipment. This may
> have been a fiddly task, but The Engine did it, and it only took a few
> minutes to get it going.

Will it be possible to display (scaled) analogue values? A good
example of this is measuring the current of a production board
on startup. If it is out of bounds, it is rejected with a loud
beep (We had to keep ourselves from popping up a win box with
a smirking face). We are also working on a much more powerfull
script engine that will enable us to use it in a repair
environment too. The technician can modify scripts to suit the batch.

At the moment, our jig can program a few PICs, I2C memory,
JTAG on a Motorola, and general comms with the device under
test with the current scripts. We are moving to 3V for the next
generation of products. Ironically we use a 8051 to program our
PICs.

It is using a 16C74 at the moment, but I was thinking of using a 16C65
because it only needs a UART. However, this chip is actually dearer even
without the A2D.

I haven't thought about analog goodies as yet, but it won't be too hard
to add in some analog instructions. The 74 is a little over half full,
so there's plenty or room for extras, and of course, there is the '77.

Unfortunately, PicNPoke's web site is in turmoil at the moment because I
am in the middle of changing ISP's. I hope the disruption won't be too
long.

I used it to program initial settings in some XICOR digital pots
yesterday.

I just added some serial number functionallity to it as well. These
numbers can be generated in a sequential manner from within The Engine,
or numbers as well as strings can extracted from a text file.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tony Nixon [SMTP:KILLspamTony.NixonKILLspamENG.MONASH.EDU.AU]
> Sent: Thursday, July 29, 1999 12:16 AM
> To: RemoveMEPICLISTTakeThisOuTMITVMA.MIT.EDU
> Subject: Re: Engine programmer
>
> Hi Viv,
>
> The Engine is usually located at
>
> http://www.picnpoke.com/engine.html
>
> Unfortunately, PicNPoke's web site is in turmoil at the moment because I
> am in the middle of changing ISP's. I hope the disruption won't be too
> long.
>
> I used it to program initial settings in some XICOR digital pots
> yesterday.
>
We use the Xicor Quade2pots. They work well, but the datasheet is pretty
crappy and it has a very peculiar variant of I2C, especially for
incrementing and decrementing the pots ;o)